Tuesday, March 03, 2009

the holiday of purim is probably one of the best of the jewish holidays in that it is filled with loads of sweets and pastries. people will spend hours baking and prepare elaborate gift baskets for family, friends and neighbours which we call mishlo'ach man'ot. it is a considered a very happy occasion, one which children remember fondly once they are grown.

one vivid memory i have is related to this recipe and the one i posted for hamantaschen. first off, one needs to know that many of the pastries and breads (especially sefardi ones) have something in particular to do with the evil haman, the archenemy of the jews in the purim story which took place in ancient persia. to keep this in memory throughout the generations, these foods have been likened to certain body parts (hair, ears & eyes usually) and clothing (pockets & hat) of this evil character.

as we all know, some foods go by different names in different locales and much depends upon what you've grown up with or your community adopts. such is the case with one of the most well known items eaten on this holiday and the beginning of my small, somewhat amusing story/memory .....

hojuelas = small leaves (leaflets)[one] ear = oreja; [2 or more] ears = orejasin my house, the pastries you see below were called by two names - oznei haman or hojuelasd'haman. hojuelas, or small leaves, seemed to be the more formal spanish name. they often were just called orejas (literally ears). they really looked like ears and always amused us as children .... ears never tasted so good, especially when covered with icing sugar! little leaves just didn't seem to have the same intrigue.

***parents explain how she never heard about what OUR sefardi oznei haman looked like and that what i know as hamantaschen are also oznei haman amongst the ashkenazi - funny, i didn't find it as amusing as my parents did at the time (LOL) ***

morah malka enjoyed haman's ears tremendously and has probably never forgotten about me either (hehehe).

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hojuelas (orejas/oznei) d'hamanhaman's ears

irresistibly good, these deep-fried ear-shaped pastries are the sefardi version of the ashkenazi hamanataschen (both called oznei haman!). this recipe is always prepared in abundant amounts as they are eaten up very quickly; once you try them, you'll see why.

the following recipe is just a sample amount. it has been scaled down to try for those who have never made them before. i suggest doubling the recipe which will yield enough for about 5 to 6 people.

ingredients:

(double the amounts to make a 'standard' sized recipe) **you don't need to double oil for frying if increasing recipe**

oil for frying — we use regular olive oil; you can use vegetable oil also (~ 3 1/2 -4 c)

method:

in a bowl, place the egg, oil and orange flower water (or vanilla) and stir well.

in another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. add this mixture to the wet one and make a soft dough.

knead this dough for a few minutes and let it sit, covered, for about 1 - 2 hours. it is much like a pasta dough and must sit, well covered, for it to soften up. this will make it easier to roll out.

if you are doing this by hand, cut the dough in half and roll out the dough on a very well floured surface as thinly as you can get it. it will take you a while to do this as it is a more difficult dough to roll thinly.

i use a pasta machine which is the best way to do this. pass the dough through the machine on the widest setting 3 times and then repeat with increasingly smaller settings until you get a very thin sheet of dough.

place the dough on a flat surface and cut out circles (we use a 3 inch cutter). important: do not try to re-roll the scraps — keep them aside and cut them up if they are large and fry them after you have done all the hojuelas (keep them covered so they don't dry out). these are usually given to the kids or eaten as snacks and not served or given to guests.

cut the circles in half with a sharp knife.

take one half and, just a bit lower than the midpoint, pinch the pastry together.

it should look like an ear shape. place these on a plate and heat your oil over medium-low heat while you are doing this. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OIL and judge accordingly (as to your timing of heating the oil).

it is very important that your oil be at the right temperature —> if it is too low the hojuelas will not puff up properly and if it is too high, they will burn. you will need to fry one or two first to see and adjust the temperature if needed. remember also, the temperature will initially drop as you fry them and then rise again.

once they are a medium golden brown, carefully remove them and drain the pastries on paper towel.

once cool, dust them with powdered sugar. these keep well for a good 2 weeks (i doubt you'll have any left to keep around!!).

so glad you're back, bb!!!! simply, two excellent posts, such a hard work you've made to show us how to make both hojuelas and hamantaschen. as always, lots of information and fun. loved your "drama play" :), you were certainly all of a character as a young kid, poor morah malka, she knew nothing!!! :)))))))).mil gracias for sharing, now i HAVE to make these!

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About Me

a canadian, food-obsessed guy who loves to research, read, write and talk about all things culinary. well, most of the time • collecting recipes, clippings and cookbooks as well as kitchen paraphenalia has long been an 'illness'. blogging about it is my cheap version of therapy • many of the recipes & foods i include may relate to jewish cuisine but my goal is not to maintain a blog which solely focuses on that aspect. so .... no pork, shellfish or mixed meat & dairy here but a myriad of otherwise just as delicious & mouth-watering recipes and information about what enters our gullets • apart from the comestible, posts often include bytes of other interesting finds, quite unrelated to the world of food — a latest earth-shattering or just curious news event, music, humour, the internet, our non-human counterparts & the other oddities of our world will sometimes be featured in the spotlight.